LAST Friday was a bombshell by any definition and a Rs55 per litre price hike is a killer for the common citizenry. Sharp adjustments like this always trigger equally sharp politics. But this is the first time I have seen a government move with such speed, and pre-emptive intention, to adjust oil prices at the pump even before the instability has entered our oil supply chain.
Maybe it was possible to do this better, but the fact that a sharp upward adjustment was coming was unavoidable. In the wake of the price hike, a number of observations circulated. Let me address one of them in particular.
People shared a graphic showing fuel price hikes in various countries around the world which showed Pakistan at the top. Why did Pakistan pass such a massive price increase compared to all other countries, including India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka?
Let’s start with the regional countries.
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